The present invention relates generally to ballast devices and, more particularly, to an automobile ballast device in which a bladder may be filled with variable amounts of water and surrounded by panels of interlocking members for protection.
In climates and environments where ice and snow are common during the winter months, maintaining sufficient traction while driving an automobile is a significant challenge. Adding weight to the vehicle so that the wheels and tires are pressed more firmly against a slippery road surface helps improve driving conditions and reduce slippage. To that end, it has been known to place sandbags or other heavy objects in a truck bed or trunk of a vehicle.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for more user friendly ballast devices for a truck bed or car trunk. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and proposals do not provide a user with a visual indicator of how much ballast and how much weight is in the device. Further, the existing devices do not provide interlocking protective panels surrounding a variably sized bladder or recessed panel handles.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an automobile ballast device having a bladder that may be filled with selected levels of water corresponding to respective visual weight indicating markings. Further, it is desirable to have an automobile ballast device in which the bladder is sandwiched between interlocking panels for protection.